A distinguished Japanese academic from the tsunami-affected region of Fukushima and a Singaporean CEO who has pioneered clean and renewable energy in South East Asia have been announced as joint winners of The University of Queensland 2011 International Alumnus of the Year award.
Dr Yuichi Murakami, Associate Professor at the Fukushima University Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences in Japan; and Edwin Khew, co-founder, CEO and Managing Director of IUT Global Pte Ltd were honoured at The University of Queensland's annual Courting the Greats gala dinner on September 24 at the UQ Centre, St Lucia.
Following the 2011 Brisbane floods, Dr Murakami and his students raised funds in Japan to support the Vice-Chancellor’s Emergency Student Welfare Fund, assisting UQ students impacted by the floods.
In a tragic turn of events, it was soon to be students, alumni, and friends in Japan who were in need of help following the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, with UQ staff and students raising funds for this purpose.
Mr Khew is recognised as a leader in advancing clean energy and renewable energy sources in South East Asia.
He has been instrumental in building a revolutionary waste management plant in Singapore to convert organic waste into green energy.
The black tie event also honoured UQ's Young Alumnus of the Year, Dr Kala Mulqueeny, who is Senior Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at the Asian Development Bank; and 2011 UQ Alumnus of the Year Dr Dimity Dornan, AM — the founder and Executive Director of Hear and Say, whose lifetime has been devoted to helping lives of hearing-impaired children and their families.
Dr Dornan’s award was presented at the event in association with Alumni Friends of The University of Queensland Inc.
The 2011 Young Alumnus of the Year Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation was awarded to Dr David Noon, Dr Chadden Hunter and Ms Anna Kloeden.
The Courting the Greats event celebrated UQ's alumni community and paid tribute to exceptional alumni who have achieved distinction in their chosen fields and recognition among their peers.
For the first time, five Graduates of the Year from the class of 2011 were awarded. The five winners received perfect grades all the way through their degrees. They are:
• Amy Chan - Bachelor of Science in the field of Mathematics with Honours Class 1
• Christian Hoermann - Bachelor of Engineering in the field of Software Engineering with Honours Class 1
• Nicola Stromsoe - Bachelor of Science in the field of Geographical Science with Honours Class 1
• Ernest Tee - Bachelor of Biotechnology in the field of Drug Design and Development with Honours Class 1
• Jack Valmadre - Bachelor of Engineering with an extended major in Mechatronic Engineering with Honours Class 1
The University received a large number of nominees in all categories.
“The diversity of this year's applicants is testament to the success of our graduates both here and overseas in a wide range of disciplines,” UQ Pro Vice-Chancellor (Advancement) Clare Pullar said.
“The calibre of our nominees has certainly reinforced the strong innovation and leadership our alumni community have demonstrated since graduation,” Ms Pullar said.
A photo of the winners can be downloaded from: http://omc.uq.edu.au/images/courting%5Fgreats/
Media: Jan King 0413 601 248
FULL CITATIONS FOR THE AWARD WINNERS
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Dimity Dornan AM
PhD UQ, HonDUniv USQ, BSpThy Qld 1976, LSLS Cert AVT FSPAA
2011 Alumnus of the Year
Dr Dimity Dornan AM graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Therapy from The University of Queensland in 1976. More recently in 2011, she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, also from The University of Queensland. Dr Dornan’s thesis reported on a longitudinal controlled study on the outcomes for children with hearing loss educated in an Auditory-Verbal Therapy program. She has made 16 major presentations on the topic of her PhD thesis and is internationally certified as a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist – Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Dr Dornan is the Founder and Managing Director of Hear and Say, a not-for-profit program, which she commenced in 1992. This program enables children with hearing loss to listen and speak through the use of modern hearing technology, combined with the simultaneous education of parents and children – Auditory-Verbal Therapy. Today, Hear and Say works with over 500 children and families in six Queensland centres, plus a telemedicine outreach program for rural, regional and international children and families. Dr Dornan is also the founder of Hear and Say Research and Innovation, the research and development unit of Hear and Say and Hear and Say WorldWide, its global professional training program. Recently, she initiated an international consortium of 10 universities engaged in similar professional training, the Ling Consortium.
In 1992 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship. She became a Member of the Order of Australia in 1998 and a Fellow of Speech Pathology Australia in 1999. She has received the Australian Medical Association Award of Distinction for Services to Medicine in 1999, was the 2003 Australian of the Year for Queensland, the Ernst & Young Australian Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005 and Suncorp Queenslander of the Year in 2010. She is a past board member of the CRC for Hearing in Australia and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Washington DC. Dr Dornan was awarded a Doctorate (honoris causa) by the University of Southern Queensland in 2011.
In recognition of her outstanding service to the community and her lifelong devotion to improving the lives of hearing-impaired children and their families, The University of Queensland takes pleasure in presenting Dr Dimity Dornan with the 2011 Alumnus of the Year Award.
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Dr Kala Mulqueeny
Bachelor of Commerce 1991
Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) 1994
2011 Young Alumnus of the Year
Dr Kala Mulqueeny graduated from The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1991 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1994. She was awarded a University Medal, was Vice-President of the University of Queensland Law Society, Director of the International Student Clerkship Exchange and served on the Law Faculty Board.
She went on to receive a Masters of Law (waived) and a Doctorate of Juridical Science from Harvard Law School and was awarded the Laylin Prize for both her Master’s thesis and Doctorate of Juridical Science dissertation. She is one of only two persons to have won this prize twice.
After University, Dr Mulqueeny clerked for a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia and worked for Fairfax Pty Ltd. She has practiced law with leading firms in Australia, New York and Hong Kong and interned at the Centre for International Environmental Law in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2010, she was named one of the top 40 lawyers in Australasia by Australasian Legal Business: Legal News.
Dr Mulqueeney is a 2011 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a 2010 Yale World Fellow. She has taught widely. She was an Adjunct Professor equivalent at the University of the Philippines and a lecturer at Hong Kong University and the Asia-America Institute in Transnational Law.
Today Dr Mulqueeny is Senior Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at the Asian Development Bank leading law, policy and regulation relating to the environment, energy and climate change. Her work has seen her at the forefront of environment and energy policy and regulation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage technology.
Dr Mulqueeny is truly an alumnus of the modern age with a career that is both dynamic in its scope and global in perspective. She exemplifies the University’s values of diversity, teaching and research excellence, and community engagement. It is with great pleasure that The University of Queensland awards the 2011 Young Alumnus of the Year to Dr Kala Mulqueeny.
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Associate Professor Yuichi Murakami
Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) 1994
Doctor of Philosophy (History) 1999
2011 International Alumnus of the Year
Dr Yuichi Murakami is Associate Professor at the Fukushima University Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences in Japan. In 1993 he graduated from Hokkaido University with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Western History. He moved to Brisbane to complete his Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in 1994 at The University of Queensland, continuing on to earn a Doctor of Philosophy in History in 1999.
Dr Murakami is a distinguished academic and has dedicated his research career to understanding cultural differences between Australia and Japan. Importantly, he has applied his research to foster this understanding by building ties between Fukushima University and The University of Queensland. He has engaged The School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, by bringing students from Fukushima University to Brisbane on study trips to further cultural and intellectual exchange between the two cultures.
Following the 2011 Brisbane floods, Dr Murakami and his students raised funds in their homeland to support the Vice-Chancellor’s Emergency Student Welfare Fund, benefitting UQ students impacted by the floods.
In a tragic turn of events, it was soon to be students, alumni, and friends in Japan who were in need of help following the devastating earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. UQ’s School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies raised funds to support Japan’s disaster relief. Dr Murakami accepted the donation on behalf of Fukushima University.
Clearly, a supportive global community has resulted from Dr Murakami’s work.
For his continued contribution to intercultural understanding and efforts to strengthen ties between our two universities, it is with great pleasure that The University of Queensland awards the 2011 International Alumnus of the Year to Dr Yuichi Murakami.
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Er Edwin Teck Fook Khew
Bachelor of Engineering 1973
2011 International Alumnus of the Year
Edwin Khew graduated from The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Engineering in 1973. He has since had a prolific career in the engineering sector, holding several senior positions with multi-national companies and extensive membership within boards and organisations across Singapore and South East Asia. Er Khew is the co-founder, CEO and Managing Director of IUT Global Pte Ltd, a global environmental waste technology and management company with its headquarters in Singapore. Prior to founding IUT Global, Edwin was the Executive Director of Vivendi Universal Asia Pacific, the largest multi-services engineering company in the world.
Er Khew is recognised by his peers as a leader in advancing clean and renewable energy sources in South East Asia. In 1995, together with the former Singaporean Minister of Environment, he led a group of environmental companies to Vietnam to explore ecological-related infrastructure projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. He was named Asia Foundation Fellow by the US-Asian Environment Program and participated in the US Environmental Fellowship Program. Er Khew has been instrumental in building a revolutionary waste management plant in Singapore to convert organic waste into green energy.
Er Khew has also played a prominent and positive role in the public life of Singapore. He served as a Nominated Member of the Singapore Parliament from 2007-2009, and he participated in the Singapore Prime Minister’s Delegation to the Netherlands and Belgium in 1996 to represent the private sector on industry and infrastructure development. He currently serves as Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore.
Er Khew is making a real and significant difference to some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity today. He is widely respected as a captain of industry and generous contributor to both public and private sectors. It is with great pleasure that The University of Queensland awards the 2011 International Alumnus of the Year to Er Edwin Khew.
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Amy Ngah Chan
Bachelor of Science, with First Class Honours (Mathematics)
2011 Graduate of the Year
Chancellor, Amy Ngah Chan commenced a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree at The University of Queensland in 2007. She was accepted into The University’s Advanced Studies Program in Science in 2008. This is a research program allowing high achieving students to complete ‘year long’ research projects in their 2nd and 3rd years. In 2007, she also received a Distinction for her AMEB Practical Grade 8 Flute examination.
Amy was awarded the Maud Walker and James Cecil Stevenson Memorial Prizes in 2008; the Michael P. O’Donnell Memorial Prize and the two year Maunsell Australia Undergraduate Scholarship in 2009 and, in 2010, the Harriet Marks Bursary. At the 2010 UQ Undergraduate Research Conference her address was judged the Best Student Presentation.
Currently, Amy is a Graduate Fellow with the CSIRO (Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics). This is a two year research fellowship in the area of image analysis applied to agricultural images. This appointment follows a year as a Research Projects Officer with CSIRO gathering high-resolution images of insects for automating identification. During her studies, Amy worked as a tutor and mentor in the School of Mathematics and Physics at The University of Queensland and has undertaken private tutoring in high school and tertiary level mathematics.
Chancellor, in recognition of her outstanding scholarship, I present to you Ms Amy Ngah Chan, Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in the field of Mathematics and a grade point average of seven for her entire course of study. Amy has been awarded eight Dean’s Commendations for High Achievement and a University of Queensland Medal in 2010. She is a recipient of the 2011 Graduate of the Year Award.
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Jack Louis Valmadre
Bachelor of Engineering, with First Class Honours (Mechatronics)
2011 Graduate of the Year
Chancellor, Jack Louis Valmadre was Dux of Brisbane’s Corinda State High School in 2006, winning subject prizes in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and IT. While at school, he was the national champion of the RoboCup Junior Soccer Competition, winning second place for Australia at the World Cup in Germany. He received a Dean’s Excellence Scholarship to study a Bachelor of Engineering at The University of Queensland in 2007 receiving the John Black Prize later the same year.
Jack was awarded the 2008 Walter Bruce Darker Scholarship, the 2009 Sir Thomas McIlwraith Scholarship and, in 2010, the Hawken Memorial Scholarship and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers’ Frederick Barnes Best Student Prize.
Currently, Jack is studying for his PhD from Queensland University of Technology in the CSIRO ICT Centre Computer Vision Laboratory having been awarded a Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship and an Australian Research Council Postgraduate Award. The proposed title of his thesis is: “Markerless human motion capture from a monocular camera.”
During his undergraduate studies, Jack worked as a tutor for the Mechatronics Team at The University of Queensland and completed summer internships as a research student at CSIRO and as a software engineer at Microsoft in Washington, USA. He also played tenor saxophone in the UQ Big Band for four years. He developed free software to help UQ students choose an optimal timetable which received over 9,000 unique visits this year.
Chancellor, in recognition of his outstanding scholarship, I present to you Mr Jack Louis Valmadre, Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honours in the field of Mechatronics with a grade point average of seven for his entire course of study. Jack was awarded a University of Queensland Medal in 2010 and is a recipient of the 2011 Graduate of the Year Award.
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Ernest Hock Lynn Tee
Bachelor of Biotechnology, with First Class Honours
(Drug Design and Development)
2011 Graduate of the Year
Chancellor, born in Malaysia, Ernest Tee was educated at Klang High School and Taylor’s College Subang Jaya in Malaysia where he concentrated his science studies in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Ernest chose to study at The University of Queensland because of its ‘Group of Eight’ reputation and its solid foundation in scientific research plus its exemplary teaching facilities and talents. Ernest was accepted into the University’s Advanced Science Program Internship Placement in 2008. This program gives high achieving undergraduates a chance to work in research laboratories and receive individual mentoring from a scientist.
In his second year of study, Ernest was awarded the Australian Laboratory Services Prize in Analytical Chemistry. In 2009, he received the Academic Recognition Award at the Malaysia’s National Day celebration in Brisbane. In 2010, he received the Donald McNaughton Scholarship and was the Valedictorian of the UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences group of graduates.
Currently, Ernest is working full-time as a Research Assistant at UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience in Professor Matthew Cooper’s research group. His responsibilities are primarily the syntheses and characterisation of small organic molecules that complement the various research projects in the group. Ernest is intending to pursue a degree in Medicine hopefully commencing in 2012.
Chancellor, in recognition of his outstanding scholarship, I present to you Mr Ernest Hock Lynn Tee, Bachelor of Biotechnology with First Class Honours in the field of Drug Design and Development and a grade point average of seven for his entire course of study. Ernest has been awarded six Dean’s Commendations for High Achievement and a University of Queensland Medal in 2010. He is a recipient of the 2011 Graduate of the Year Award.
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Christian Rudolf Hoermann
Bachelor of Engineering, (Softwear Engineering)
2011 Graduate of the Year
Chancellor, Christian Rudolf Hoermann was Dux at Nambour Christian College in 2004. He trained as a Commercial Pilot commencing a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Degree at The University of Queensland in 2007.
In 2007 Christian received the Kenneth Swanwick Memorial Prize. In 2008, he was awarded the CiSRA Individual Prize for second year Software Engineering and the UQ Tutoring Excellence Award. In 2009 he received the CiSRA 3rd Year Prize, CiSRA Team Prize and the Walter Bruce Darker Scholarship. In 2010 he won the Google Prize for 4th Year in IT, Computer Science & Software Engineering, the David Andrew Krnak Memorial Prize and the Sir Thomas McIlwraith Engineering Scholarship.
Currently, Christian is working at Oracle Corporation’s headquarters in California as an Ethical Hacker (Security Analyst) following his Software Engineering internship with Oracle in 2009. His responsibilities are primarily related to computer security and software defects.
His engineering thesis, also in partnership with Oracle in 2010 in Australia at UQ, was related to security tools research leading to his current employment. Christian is now looking forward to continuing his work as part of Oracle's Ethical Hacking Team and hopes to be able to use some of the theoretical knowledge he has acquired throughout his studies (and especially during his thesis period) to foster innovation in the software security industry.
Chancellor, in recognition of his outstanding scholarship, I present to you Mr Christian Rudolf Hoermann, Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honours in the field of Software Engineering and a grade point average of seven for his entire course of study. Christian has been awarded eight Dean’s Commendations for High Achievement and a University of Queensland Medal in 2010. He is a recipient of the 2011 Graduate of the Year Award.
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Nicola Jane Stromsoe
Bachelor of Science, with First Class Honours (Geography)
2011 Graduate of the Year
Chancellor, Nicola Jane Stromsoe attended Kenmore High School completing Year 12 in 1994. She commenced a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree in Geography at The University of Queensland in 2007. This followed her Bachelor of Arts (Communication) Degree from Griffith University in 1997. Nicola focussed on art during high school and during her first degree but was always interested in science and in understanding how things in the natural environment work. It was this that motivated her to change careers and undertake her second qualification at UQ.
In 2010, Nicola received the Harriet Marks Bursary for High Achievement by a Bachelor of Science student who enrols in the Science honours program. In 2011 she was awarded the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland Prize for the highest mark in the Geography Program, a UQ Advantage Scholarship and received an Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Post Graduate Research Award.
From 2008 to 2010, Nicola worked as a Research Assistant at the University. She worked as a Lighting Technician and Designer at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Opera Queensland, the Brisbane Powerhouse and La Boite Theatre Company from 1998 to 2010.
Nicola has commenced her PhD at the University. Her thesis topic is “The environmental fate of trace metals in the Snowy Mountains, NSW”. When she completes her PhD, Nicola hopes to continue research in the field of physical geography to ensure land and water resources are managed in a way that is sustainable.
Chancellor, in recognition of her outstanding scholarship, I present to you Ms Nicola Jane Stromsoe, Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in the field of Geography with a grade point average of seven for her entire course of study. Nicola has been awarded seven Dean’s Commendations for High Achievement and a University of Queensland Medal in 2010. She is a recipient of the 2011 Graduate of the Year Award.
